Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Olive-sided Flycatcher

The olive-sided flycatcher has a large and diverse breeding range. They breed across Canada, Alaska, the western half of the United States and the northeastern United States. Here in Minnesota they breed in the northeast corner of the state but both of these birds were photographed in the south east part of the state. During the winter these birds migrate to parts of Central America and northern South America.

Olive-sided flycatchers eat flying insects which they usually catch in flight. I watched this bird catch about a half dozen bees with in a few minutes. From his perch on the branch he would fly up into the air, looping around, and then return to his perch with a bee in his beak. Olive-sided flycatchers live in forested habitats. Burned areas are preferred habitat because there is usually plenty of burnt snags for them to hunt fromand not a lot of brush to get in their way while they hunt.

The only flycather I have seen is the great crested flycatcher. They are wonderful to watch and very adept at catching insects. This is my first exposure to the Olive Sided Flycatcher ... a very busy little fellow. Thank you for the information, EB.